Sicilian Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia, also known as simply the Mafia and frequently referred to by its own members as Cosa Nostra, is a - -type originating in , . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organisational structure and . The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or . Each family claims over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (borgata) of a larger city, in which it operates its . Its members call themselves " ", although the public often refers to them as mafiosi. The Mafia's core activities are eering, the arbitration of disputes between criminals, and the organizing and oversight of illegal agreements and transactions. Following waves of emigration, the Mafia has spread to other countries such as Canada and the United States. Definitions Until the early 1980s, mafia was generally considered a unique cultural attitude and form of power, excluding any corporate or organisational dimension. Some even used it as a defensive attempt to render the Mafia benign and romantic — not a criminal association, but the sum of Sicilian values that outsiders will never understand. was an Italian deputy who travelled to Sicily and who wrote one of the first authoritative reports on the mafia in 1876. He saw the Mafia as an "industry of violence" and described the designation of the term "mafia": , 1876}} Franchetti saw the Mafia as deeply rooted in Sicilian society and impossible to quench unless the very structure of the island's social institutions were to undergo a fundamental change. Some observers saw "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by Sicilian ethnographer : , 1889}} Other scholars such as say: , 1901}} Like Pitrè, codes, but did not consider the Mafia a formal organisation.}} The Mafia was seen as an enterprise, and its economic activities became the focus of academic analyses. Ignoring the cultural aspects, the Mafia is often erroneously seen as similar to other non-Sicilian organized criminal associations. s missed}} essential aspects of the Mafia that became clear when investigators were confronted with the testimonies of Mafia turncoats, like those of Buscetta to judge Falcone at the . The economic approach to explain the Mafia did illustrate the development and operations of the Mafia business, but neglected The economic paradigm was prevalent when the Italian Penal Code definition of criminal conspiracy (Article 416) was extended by . Article 416 bis defines an association as being of Mafia-type nature "when those belonging to the association exploit the potential for intimidation which their membership gives them, and the compliance and omerta which membership entails and which lead to the committing of crimes, the direct or indirect assumption of management or control of financial activities, concessions, permissions, enterprises and public services for the purpose of deriving profit or wrongful advantages for themselves or others." The term Mafia-type organisations is used to clearly distinguish the uniquely Sicilian Mafia from other criminal organisations – such as the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta, the – that are structured like the Mafia but are not the Mafia. According to historian Salvatore Lupo, "if everything is Mafia, nothing is Mafia." and have characterized the Sicilian Mafia as a "cartel of private protection firms",}} whose primary business is . They use their fearsome reputation for violence to deter people from swindling, robbing, or competing with those who pay them for protection. For many businessmen in Sicily, they provide an essential service when they cannot rely on the police and judiciary to enforce their contracts and protect their properties from thieves (this is often because they are engaged in deals). There are several lines of interpretation, often blended to some extent, to define the Mafia: it has been viewed as a mirror of traditional Sicilian society; as an enterprise or type of criminal industry; as a more or less centralized secret society; and as a juridical ordering that is parallel to that of the state – a kind of anti-state. The Mafia is all of these but none of these exclusively. History Post-feudal Sicily to .}} Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced the law through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of the land became private property of the peasants. After Italy annexed Sicily in 1860, it redistributed a large share of public and church land to private citizens. The result was a huge increase in landowners — from 2,000 in 1812 to 20,000 by 1861. With this increase in property owners and commerce came more disputes that needed settling, contracts that needed enforcing, transactions that needed oversight, and properties that needed protecting. largely due to their inexperience with capitalism. Lack of manpower was also a problem; there were often fewer than 350 active policemen for the entire island. Some towns did not have any permanent police force, only visited every few months by some troops to collect malcontents, leaving criminals to operate with impunity in the interim. Compounding these problems was banditry. Rising food prices, the loss of public and church lands, and the loss of feudal pushed many desperate peasants to steal. In the face of rising crime, booming commerce, and inefficient law enforcement, property owners turned to extralegal arbitrators and protectors. These extralegal protectors eventually organized themselves into the first Mafia clans. In countryside towns that lacked formal constabulary, These companies-at-arms were often made up of former bandits and criminals, usually the most skilled and violent of them. This saved communities the trouble of training their own policemen, but it may have made the companies-at-arms more inclined to collude with their former brethren rather than destroy them. Scholars such as Salvatore Lupo have identified these groups as "proto-Mafia". There was little Mafia activity in the eastern half of Sicily. This did not mean that there was little violence; the most violent conflicts over land took place in the east, but they did not involve mafiosi. In the east, the ruling elites were more cohesive and active during the transition from feudalism to capitalism. They maintained their large stables of enforcers and were able to absorb or suppress any emerging violent groups. Furthermore, the land in the east was generally divided into a smaller number of large estates so that there were fewer landowners, and their large estates often required its guardians to patrol it full-time. The owners of such estates needed to hire full-time guardians. By contrast in the west, the estates tended to be smaller and thus did not require the total, round-the-clock attention of a protector. It was cheaper for these estates to contract their protection to a mafioso rather than employing full-time guards. A mafioso in these regions could protect multiple small estates at once, which gave him great independence and leverage to charge high prices. The landowners in this region were also frequently absent and could not watch over their properties should the protector withdraw, further increasing his bargaining power. as these industries were particularly vulnerable to thieves and vandals and thus badly needed protection. Citrus plantations had a fragile production system that made them quite vulnerable to sabotage. Likewise, cattle are very easy to steal. The Mafia was often more effective than the police at recovering stolen cattle; in the 1920s, it was noted that the Mafia's success rate at recovering stolen cattle was 95%, whereas the police managed only 10%. , leader of the Palermo National Guard, wrote of a "sect of thieves" that operated throughout Sicily.}} This "sect" was mostly rural, composed of cattle thieves, smugglers, wealthy farmers, and their guards. The sect made "affiliates every day of the brightest young people coming from the rural class, of the guardians of the fields in the Palermitan countryside, and of the large number of smugglers; a sect which gives and receives protection to and from certain men who make a living on traffic and internal commerce. It had special signals to recognize each other, offered protection services, scorned the law, and had a code of loyalty and non-interaction with the police known as umirtà ("code of silence"). Colonna warned in his report that the Italian government's brutal and clumsy attempts to crush crime only made the problem worse by alienating the populace. An 1865 dispatch from the prefect of Palermo to first officially described the phenomenon as a "Mafia". An 1876 police report makes the earliest known description of the familiar . At this period in history, only a small fraction of the Sicilian population could vote, so a single mafia boss could control a sizable chunk of the electorate and thus wield considerable political leverage. Mafiosi used their allies in government to avoid prosecution as well as persecute less well-connected rivals. The highly fragmented and shaky Italian political system allowed cliques of Mafia-friendly politicians to exert a lot of influence. that went through alternating phases of cooperation and conflict. The report mentioned initiation rituals and codes of conduct, as well as criminal activities that included counterfeiting, kidnappings for ransom, murder, robbery, and witness intimidation. In an attempt to annihilate the Mafia, Italian troops arrested 64 people of Palermo in February 1898. (which mafia-type organizations can supply) and opportunities for extortion (by mafia-type organizations). See . *A 2015 study in attributed the emergence of the Sicilian Mafia to the Sicilian municipalities abundant in , Sicily's most valuable export commodity. The combination of a weak state and a lootable natural resource made the sulphur-rich parts of Sicily conducive to the emergence of mafia-type organisations. *A 2017 study in the also links the emergence of the Sicilian Mafia to surging demand for following the late 18th century discovery that citrus fruits cured scurvy. *A 2019 study in the Review of Economic Studies linked Mafia activity to "the rise of organizations. In an environment with weak state presence, this triggered landowners, estate managers and local politicians to turn to the Mafia to resist and combat peasant demands." Fascist suppression initiated a campaign to destroy the Mafia and assert Fascist control over Sicilian life.}} The Mafia threatened and undermined his power in Sicily, and a successful campaign would strengthen him as the new leader, legitimizing and empowering his rule. This would be a great propaganda coup for , and it would also provide an excuse to suppress his political opponents on the island, since many Sicilian politicians had Mafia links. As prime minister, he visited Sicily in May 1924 and passed through where he was received by mayor/Mafia boss . At some point, Cuccia expressed surprise at Mussolini's police escort and whispered in his ear: "You are with me, you are under my protection. What do you need all these cops for?" Mussolini rejected Cuccia's offer of protection, and the sindaco felt that he had been slighted and instructed the townsfolk not to attend the 's speech. Mussolini felt humiliated and outraged. Cuccia's careless remark has passed into history as the catalyst for Mussolini's war on the Mafia. as the Prefect of Palermo in October 1925 and granted him special powers to fight the Mafia.}} Mori formed a small army of policemen, and militiamen, which went from town to town rounding up suspects. To force suspects to surrender, they would take their families hostage, sell off their property, or publicly slaughter their livestock. By 1928, more than Some mafiosi who had been on the losing end of Mafia feuds voluntarily cooperated with prosecutors, perhaps as a way of obtaining protection and revenge. Charges of Mafia association were typically leveled at poor peasants and (farm leaseholders), but were avoided when dealing with major landowners. Many were tried en masse. More than 1,200 were convicted and imprisoned, and many others were internally exiled without trial. Mori's campaign ended in June 1929 when Mussolini recalled him to . As Mafia informant reminisced: "The music changed. Mafiosi had a hard life. ... After the war the mafia hardly existed anymore. Sicily's murder rate sharply declined. Landowners were able to raise the legal rents on their lands, sometimes as much as ten-thousandfold. Many mafiosi fled to Canada and the United States. Among these were and who became powerful Mafia bosses in in Canada, as well as and in in the United States. Post-Fascist revival troops invaded Sicily. Crime soared in the upheaval and chaos. Many inmates escaped from their prisons, banditry returned, and the black market thrived.}} During the first six months of Allied occupation, party politics were banned in Sicily. Most institutions were destroyed, with the exception of the police and , and the American occupiers had to build a new order from scratch. (AMGOT) simply appointed replacements. Many turned out to be mafiosi,}} such as and . They could easily present themselves as political dissidents, and their position gave them additional credibility. Mafia bosses reformed their clans, absorbing some of the marauding bandits into their ranks. The Minister of Agriculture – a – pushed for reforms in which peasants were to get larger shares of produce, be allowed to form s and take over badly used land, and remove the system by which leaseholders (known as " ") could rent land from landowners for their own short-term use. Owners of especially large estates were to be forced to sell off some of their land. The Mafia had connections to many landowners and murdered many reformers. The most notorious attack was the , when 11 people were killed and 33 wounded during celebrations on May 1, 1947. The bloodbath was perpetrated by bandit who was possibly backed by local Mafia bosses. In the end, though, they were unable to stop the process, and many landowners chose to sell their land to mafiosi, who offered more money than the government. led to the imprisonment of many American mafiosi. Furthermore, , a major hub for drug smuggling, fell to . This prompted American mafia boss to return to Sicily in 1957 to franchise out his operations to the Sicilian clans. Anticipating rivalries for the lucrative American drug market, he negotiated the establishment of a to mediate disputes.}} Sack of Palermo The post-war period saw a huge building boom in Palermo. Allied bombing in had left more than 14,000 people homeless, and migrants were pouring in from the countryside, so there was a huge demand for new homes. Much of this construction was subsidized by public money. and , took control of Palermo's Office of Public Works. Between 1959 and 1963, about 80 percent of building permits were given to just five people, none of whom represented major construction firms and were probably Mafia frontmen.}} Construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay . Many buildings were illegally constructed before the city's planning was finalized. Mafiosi scared off anyone who dared to question the illegal building. The result of this unregulated building was the demolition of many historic buildings and the erection of apartment blocks, many of which were not up to standard. , 1982}} The cement business was appealing to the Mafia because it allows high levels of local economic involvement and is a good front for illegitimate operations. First Mafia War The First Mafia War was the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy (the Sicilian Mafia has a long history of violent rivalries). organized a drug shipment to America}} with the help of two Sicilian clans, the Grecos and the La Barberas. to handle the heroin. When the shipment arrived in America, however, the American buyers claimed that some heroin was missing,}} and paid Di Pisa a commensurately lower sum. Di Pisa accused the Americans of defrauding him, while the La Barberas accused Di Pisa of embezzling the missing heroin. In April 1963, several bystanders were wounded during a shootout in Palermo. In May, survived a murder attempt in . In June, six military officers and a policeman in were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb. 117 suspects were put on trial in 1968, but most were acquitted or received light sentences. The inactivity plus money lost to legal fees and so forth reduced most mafiosi to poverty. Smuggling boom The 1950s and 1960s were difficult times for the mafia, but .}} Sicilian and Neapolitan crime bosses negotiated a joint monopoly over the smuggling of cigarettes to . refineries operated by in were shut down by authorities, and traffickers looked to . Starting in 1975, Cosa Nostra set up heroin refineries around the island. Cosa Nostra sought to control both the refining and distribution of heroin. Sicilian mafiosi moved to the United States to personally control distribution networks there, often at the expense of their U.S. counterparts. Heroin addiction in surged from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s. ).}} Second Mafia War }} In the early 1970s, was boss of the and a member of the , and he forged a coalition of mafia clans known as the Corleonesi with himself as its leader. He initiated a campaign to dominate Cosa Nostra and its narcotics trade. Leggio was imprisoned in 1974, so he acted through his deputy , to whom he eventually handed over control. The Corleonesi bribed cash-strapped Palermo clans into the fold, subverted members of other clans, and secretly recruited new members. In 1977, the Corleonesi had expelled from the Commission on trumped-up charges of hiding drug revenues. , and the began in earnest.}} Hundreds of enemy mafiosi and their relatives were murdered, sometimes by traitors in their own clans. By manipulating the Mafia's rules and eliminating rivals, the Corleonesi came to completely dominate the Commission. Riina used his power over the Commission to replace the bosses of certain clans with hand-picked regents. effectively became the "boss of bosses" of the Sicilian Mafia.}} The police were frustrated with the lack of help that they were receiving from witnesses and politicians. At the funeral of a policeman murdered by mafiosi in 1985, policemen insulted and spat at two attending politicians, and a fight broke out between them and military police. Maxi trial In the early 1980s, magistrates and began a campaign against Cosa Nostra. Their big break came with the arrest of , a mafioso who chose to turn informant in exchange for protection from the ,}} who had already murdered many of his friends and relatives. Falcone and Borsellino compiled their testimonies and organized the which lasted from February 1986 to December 1987. It was held in a fortified courthouse specially built for the occasion. In January 1992, the Italian Supreme Court confirmed these convictions. War against the state and Riina's downfall , a close political ally of the Mafia, was murdered for failing to reverse the convictions as promised. Falcone was on May 23, 1992 with 400 kg of TNT positioned under the near , Sicily. Borsellino was also on July 19, 1992. This led to a public outcry and a massive government crackdown, resulting in the arrest of in January 1993. More and more informants emerged. Many paid a high price for their cooperation, usually through the murder of relatives. For example, mother, aunt, and sister were murdered.}} After Riina's arrest, the Mafia furthered their campaign of terrorism on the Italian mainland. Tourist spots were attacked, such as the in , in , and the Piazza and Via San Teodoro in , leaving 10 dead and 93 injured and causing severe damage to cultural heritage such as the . in Milan in 1993}} After Riina's capture, leadership of the Mafia was briefly held by , then passed to when Bagarella was captured in 1995. Provenzano halted the campaign of violence and replaced it with a campaign of quietness known as . Provenzano years and their families, with a view instead to getting them to retract their testimonies and return to the fold. The tide of defectors was greatly stemmed. The Mafia preferred to initiate relatives of existing mafiosi, believing them to be less prone to defection. is .}} Modern Mafia in Italy .}} }} is a close confidant of Provenzano who turned shortly after his capture in 2002. He }} who was then planning the birth of . in return for electoral support in Sicily. Nevertheless, Giuffrè's declarations have not yet been confirmed. The Italian Parliament reinforced the provisions of the 41 bis, with the full support of Forza Italia. The bill was to expire in 2002 but has been prolonged for another four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy's leading magazines , 119 mafiosi have been released on an individual basis – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41 bis regime. The human rights group has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could, in some circumstances, amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners. , seven-time , had proven links to the Mafia .}} and High Court judge have long been suspected of having ties to the Mafia,}} in addition to mentioned above. According to a verdict of the "Corte d'Appello", Italian appellate court, Andreotti "had, not without personal advantages, knowingly and deliberately nurtured a stable relationship with the criminal organization, contributing to its strength by manifesting his availability to favor its members"; the same court did not incriminate Andreotti due to the statute of limitations, which had been reached at the time of the ruling. crime organization from . In 2006, the 'Ndrangheta was estimated to control 80 percent of the imported to Europe.}} s.}} In 2015, the revealed that and exploits refugees.}} officers were arrested for involvement in the drug trade and large scale extortion.}} Altogether 37 people were arrested and over 600 officers were deployed. €11 million ($12 million) in real estate and goods were seized by police. A business owner was forced to pay €180,000 ($212,000). The Renzvillo mafia family have allegedly set up alliances with the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra. The leader is suspected of previously sending members of his organisation to Karlsruhe and Cologne in Germany. by Carabinieri police in Caltanissetta, , Enna, Ragusa, Agrigento and . Some of the most common charges were mafia association, drug trafficking, extortion, fraud and vote buying. The mayor of , Santino Sabella, was among the arrested and accused of agreeing candidates for the 2014 local elections with the Sicilian Mafia and exerting pressure on the allocation of council contracts. Two companies running in Sicily were targeted as protection rackets, overall 27 businesses were targeted and extorted. and charged with money laundering, fraud and drug trafficking, as part of Operation "Game over". Benedetto Bacchi, reportedly controlled over 700 betting shops across Italy and was earning roughly €1 million per month, using an online gambling operator licensed in Malta; his license was suspended. According to investigators, Bacchi bought a construction company, and a villa formerly owned by footballer for €500,000; the next day Bacchi listed the house for sale at the price of €1.3 million. He also allegedly considered taking over a news publication with his criminal proceeds. had set up a profitable food export company with the Sicilian mafia.}} The Cosa Nostra has traditionally been the most powerful group in Palermo. After the arrest of the alleged new mafia boss in July 2019, a article in July 2019 indicated that .}} According to Italian newspaper , "Off they go, through the streets of Passo di Rigano, Boccadifalco, Torretta and at the same time, Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey. Because from Sicily to the US, the old mafia has returned". Structure and composition ", "borgatas", or "clans."}} *Despite the name, their members are generally not related by blood. though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its . For many years, the power apparatuses of the single families were the sole ruling bodies within the two associations (Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta'), and they have remained the real centers of power even after the was created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s of a Cosa Nostra clan.}} In 1984, mafioso informant explained to prosecutors the command structure of a typical clan. * (capo bastone or sotto capo) and supervised by one or more advisers ( ).}} * " (soldati, operai, or picciotti). Each decina is led by a (called caporegime in the American Mafia).}} **Despite the name decina, they do not necessarily have ten soldiers, but can have anything from five to thirty. Some clans are so small that they don't even have decinas and capodecinas, and even in large clans certain soldiers may report directly to the boss. These are people who work for or aid a clan (or even multiple clans) but are not treated as true members. These include corrupt officials and prospective mafiosi. An associate is considered by the mafiosi nothing more than a tool, someone that they can "use", or "nothing mixed with nil." Clan hierarchy *The media has often made reference to a " " or "boss of bosses" that allegedly "commands all of Cosa Nostra". While a powerful boss may exert great influence over his neighbors, the position does not officially exist. ** , , and were especially influential bosses who have each been described by the media and law enforcement as being the "boss of bosses" of their times. * (though violent successions do happen). Due to the small size of most Sicilian clans, the boss of a clan has intimate contact with all members, and doesn't receive much in the way of privileges or rewards as he would in larger organizations (such as the larger of New York). His tenure is also frequently short: elections are yearly, and he might be deposed sooner for misconduct or incompetence. * to the boss. The underboss is sometimes a family member, such as a son, who will take over the family if the boss is sick, killed, or imprisoned. * One of his jobs is to supervise the actions of the boss and his immediate underlings, particularly in financial matters (e.g. preventing ). He also serves as an impartial adviser to the boss and mediator in internal disputes. To fulfill this role, the consigliere must be impartial, devoid of conflict of interest and ambition. Commission Clans are organized into districts ( ) of three or four geographically adjacent clans. Contrary to popular belief, the commissions do not serve as a centralized government for the Mafia. The power of the commissions is limited and clans are autonomous and independent. Rather, each Commission serves as a representative mechanism for consultation of independent clans who decide by . "Contrary to the wide-spread image presented by the media, these superordinate bodies of coordination cannot be compared with the executive boards of major legal firms. Their power is intentionally limited. And it would be entirely wrong to see in the Cosa Nostra a centrally managed, internationally active Mafia holding company," according to criminologist Letizia Paoli. A major function of the Commission is to regulate the use of violence. For instance, a mafioso who wants to commit a murder in another clan's territory must ask the permission of the local boss; the commission enforces this rule. Such acts can potentially upset other clans and spark a war, so the Commission provides a means by which to obtain their approval. When a boss dies or retires, his clan's reputation often crumbles with his departure. This can cause clients to abandon the clan and turn to neighboring clans for protection. These clans would grow greatly in status and power relative to their rivals, potentially destabilizing the region and precipitating war. The Commission may choose to divide up the clan's territory and members among its neighbors. Alternatively, the commission has the power to appoint a for the clan until it can elect a new boss. Membership A candidate cannot be a relative of or have any close links with a lawman, such as a police officer or a judge. There is no strict age limit; boys as young as sixteen have been initiated. even if he doesn't plan to be a career assassin. The act of murder is to prove his sincerity (i.e., he is not an undercover policeman) and to bind him into silence (i.e., he cannot break without facing murder charges himself). Mafiosi have an easier time getting away with crimes, negotiating deals, and demanding privileges. A full member also gains more freedom to participate in certain rackets which the Mafia controls (particularly protection racketeering). Traditionally, only men can become mafiosi, though in recent times there have been reports of women assuming the responsibilities of imprisoned mafiosi relatives. Clans are also called "families", although their members are usually not related by blood. The Mafia actually has rules designed to prevent nepotism. Most new bosses are not related to their predecessor. The Commission forbids relatives from holding positions in inter-clan bodies at the same time. That said, mafiosi frequently bring their sons into the trade. They have an easier time entering, because the son bears his father's seal of approval and is familiar with the traditions and requirements of Cosa Nostra. A mafioso's legitimate occupation, if any, generally does not affect his prestige within Cosa Nostra. Professionals such as lawyers and doctors do exist within the organization, and are employed according to whatever useful skills they have. Rituals and codes of conduct Initiation ceremony One of the first accounts of an initiation ceremony into the Mafia was given by , a leader of the , a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration which arose in Sicily in the early 1890s. In order to give the movement teeth and to protect himself from harm, Verro became a member of a Mafia group in Corleone, the Fratuzzi (Little Brothers). In a memoir written many years later, he described the initiation ritual which he underwent in the spring of 1893: }} After his arrest, mafioso described the ceremony in which he was formally made a full member of Cosa Nostra.}} In 1976, he was invited to a "banquet" at a country house. He was brought into a room where several mafiosi were sitting around a table upon which sat a pistol, a dagger, and a piece of paper bearing the image of a saint. They questioned his commitment and his feelings regarding criminality and murder (despite his already having a history of such acts). When he affirmed himself, , then As Brusca juggled the burning image in his hands, Riina said to him: "If you betray Cosa Nostra, your flesh will burn like this saint." The elements of the ceremony have changed little over the Mafia's history. These elements have been the subject of much curiosity and speculation. Sociologist points out that the Mafia, being a secretive criminal organization, cannot risk having its recruits sign application forms and written contracts which might be seized by the police. Thus they rely on the old-fashioned ritual ceremony. The elements of the ceremony are made deliberately specific, bizarre, and painful so that the event is both memorable and unambiguous, and the ceremony is witnessed by a number of senior mafiosi. Introductions This intermediary can vouch that neither of the two is an impostor. This tradition is upheld scrupulously, often to the detriment of efficient operation. For instance, when mafioso Indelicato Amedeo returned to Sicily following his initiation in the United States in the 1950s, he could not announce his membership to his own mafioso father, but had to wait for a mafioso from the United States who knew of his induction to come to Sicily and introduce the son to the father. Etiquette Mafiosi of equal status sometimes call each other "compare", while inferiors call their superiors "padrino". "Compare" means "comrade", while Padrino" is the Italian term for " ". Ten Commandments In November 2007, Sicilian police reported discovery of a list of "Ten Commandments" in the hideout of mafia boss , thought to be guidelines on good, respectful, and honourable for a mafioso. Pentito Antonino Calderone recounted similar Commandments in his 1987 testimony: Omertà is a code of silence and secrecy that forbids mafiosi from betraying their comrades to the authorities. The penalty for transgression is death, and relatives of the turncoat may also be murdered.}} Mafiosi generally do not associate with police (aside perhaps from corrupting individual officers as necessary). For instance, To do otherwise would undermine his reputation as a capable protector of others ( ), and his enemies may see him as weak and vulnerable. The need for secrecy and inconspicuousness deeply colors the traditions and mannerisms of mafiosi. Mafiosi are discouraged from consuming or other s, as in an inebriated state they are more likely to blurt out sensitive information. They also frequently adopt self-effacing attitudes to strangers so as to avoid unwanted attention. Most Sicilians tend to be very verbose and expressive, whereas mafiosi tend to be more terse and subdued. Mafiosi are also forbidden from writing down anything about their activities, lest such evidence be discovered by police. To a degree, mafiosi also impose omertà on the general population. Civilians who buy their protection or make other deals are expected to be discreet, on pain of death. Witness intimidation is also common. Protection rackets The primary activity of the Mafia is to provide protection and guarantee trust in areas of the Sicilian economy where the police and courts cannot be relied upon. The Mafia arbitrates disputes between criminals, organizes and oversees illicit business deals, and protects businessmen and criminals from cheats, thieves, and vandals. This aspect of the Mafia is often overlooked in the media because, unlike drug dealing and extortion, it is often not reported to the police. In one of his books, The seller might supply rotting meat, or the purchaser might refuse to pay. The mistrust and fear of being cheated with no recourse might prevent these two agents from making a profitable transaction. In exchange for a commission, the mafioso promises to both the buyer and seller that if either of them tries to cheat the other, the cheater can expect to be assaulted or have his property vandalized. Such is the mafioso's reputation for viciousness, impartiality, and reliability that neither the buyer nor the seller would consider cheating with him overseeing the deal. The transaction thus proceeds smoothly. If a shopkeeper enters into a protection contract with a mafioso, the mafioso will make it publicly known that if any thief were foolish enough to rob his client's shop, he would track down the thief, beat him up, and, if possible, recover the stolen merchandise (mafiosi make it their business to know all the fences in their territory). Mafiosi have protected a great variety of clients over the years: landowners, plantation owners, politicians, shopkeepers, drug dealers, etc. Whilst some people are coerced into buying protection and some do not receive any actual protection for their money (extortion), by and large the people who willingly solicit these services protect the Mafia from the authorities. If one is enjoying the benefits of Mafia protection, one does not want the police arresting one's mafioso. It is estimated that the Sicilian Mafia costs the Sicilian economy more than €10 billion a year through s. to Cosa Nostra. Monthly payments can range from €200 for a small shop or bar to €5,000 for a supermarket.}} In Sicily, protection money is known as ; the anti-extortion support group derives its name from this. Mafiosi might sometimes ask for favours instead of money, such as assistance in committing a crime. Protection from theft Protection from theft is one service that the Mafia provides to paying "clients". Mafiosi themselves are generally forbidden from committing theft (though in practice they are merely forbidden from stealing from anyone connected to the Mafia). Instead, mafiosi make it their business to know all the thieves and operating within their territory. If a protected business is robbed, the clan will use these contacts to track down and return the stolen goods and punish the thieves, usually by beating them up. Since the pursuit of thieves and their loot often goes into territories of other clans, clans routinely cooperate with each other on this matter, providing information and blocking the sale of the loot if they can. Protection from competition If two businesspeople are competing for a government contract, the protected can ask their mafioso friends to bully their rival out of the bidding process. In another example, a mafioso acting on behalf of a coffee supplier might pressure local bars into serving only their client's coffee. }} between businesspeople. Mafia-enforced collusion typically appear in markets where collusion is both desirable ( , lack of , etc.) and difficult to set up (numerous s, low ). Industries which fit this description include garbage collection. Client relations If a client rejects their overtures, mafiosi sometimes coerce them by vandalizing their property or other forms of harassment. Physical assault is rare; clients may be murdered for breaching agreements or talking to the police, but not for simply refusing protection. In many situations, mafia bosses prefer to establish an indefinite long-term bond with a client, rather than make one-off contracts. The boss can then publicly declare the client to be under his permanent protection (his "friend", in Sicilian parlance). This leaves little public confusion as to who is and isn't protected, so thieves and other predators will be deterred from attacking a protected client and prey only on the unprotected. Lack of competence is a common reason, but mostly it is to divest themselves of any interests that may conflict with their roles as protectors and arbitrators. This makes them more trusted by their clients, who need not fear their businesses being taken over. Protection territories If a dispute erupted between two clients protected by rival racketeers, the two racketeers would have to fight each other to win the dispute for their respective client. The outcomes of such fights can be unpredictable (not to mention bloody), and neither racketeer could guarantee a victory for their client. This would make their protection unreliable and of little value. Their clients might dismiss them and settle the dispute by other means, and their reputations would suffer. To prevent this, mafia clans negotiate territories in which they can monopolize the use of violence in settling disputes. This is not always done peacefully, and Other activities Vote buying such is the respect that a mafioso can command. The Italian Parliament has a huge number of seats (945, roughly 1 per 64,000 citizens) and a competing for them, meaning that a candidate can win with only a few thousand votes. A mafia clan's support can thus be decisive for their success. }} Politicians usually repay this support with favours, such as sabotaging police investigations or giving contracts and permits. They are not ideological themselves, though mafiosi have traditionally opposed extreme parties such as Fascists and Communists, and favoured centre candidates. Smuggling Smuggling operations require large investments (goods, boats, crews, etc.) but few people would trust their money to criminal gangs. It is mafiosi who raise the necessary money from investors and ensure that all parties act in good faith. They also ensure that the smugglers operate in safety. Mafiosi rarely directly involve themselves in smuggling operations. When they do, it is usually when the operations are especially risky. In this case, they may induct smugglers into their clans in the hope of binding them more firmly. This was the case with heroin smuggling, where the volumes and profits involved were too large to keep the operations at arm's length. Bid rigging The Sicilian Mafia in Italy is believed to have a turnover of €6.5 billion through control of public and private contracts. They rarely manage the businesses that they control, but take a cut of their profits, usually through payoffs ( ). Loan sharking In a 2007 publication, the Italian small-business association Confesercenti reported that about s,}} who collected around €1.4 billion a year in payments. This figure has risen during the , as tighter lending by banks forces the desperate to borrow from the Mafia. Forbidden crimes Certain types of crimes are forbidden by Cosa Nostra, either by members or freelance criminals within their domains. Mafiosi are generally forbidden from committing theft (burglary, mugging, etc.). These rules have been violated from time to time, both with and without the permission of senior mafiosi. Violence and reputation Murder and . They read: "You did not kill them: their ideas walk on our legs".}} Mafia violence is most commonly directed at other Mafia families competing for territory and business. Violence is more common in the Sicilian Mafia than the because Mafia families in Sicily are smaller and more numerous, creating a more volatile atmosphere. Reputation Through reputation, mafiosi deter their enemies and enemies of their clients. It allows mafiosi to protect a client without being physically present (e.g. as bodyguards or watchmen), which in turn allows them to protect many clients at once. Compared to other occupations, reputation is especially valuable for a mafioso, as his primary product is protection through intimidation. The reputation of a mafioso is dichotomous: he is either a good protector or a bad one; there is no mediocrity. This is because a mafioso can only either succeed at preventing an act of violence or fail utterly should any violence take place. There is no spectrum of quality when it comes to violent protection. Consequently, It can even happen that a mafioso who loses his means to commit violence (e.g. his soldiers are all in prison) can still use his reputation to intimidate and provide protection if everyone is unaware of his weakness and still believes in his power. However, in the tough world of the Mafia, such bluffs generally do not last long, as his rivals will soon sense his weakness and challenge him. When a Mafia boss retires from leadership (or is killed), his clan's reputation as effective protectors and enforcers often goes with him. If his replacement has a weaker reputation, clients may lose confidence in the clan and defect to its neighbours, causing a shift in the balance of power and possible conflict. Ideally, the successor to the boss will have built a strong reputation of his own as he worked his way up the ranks, giving the clan a reputable new leader. In this way, established Mafia clans have a powerful edge over newcomers who start from scratch; joining a clan as a soldier offers an aspiring mafioso a chance to build up his own reputation under the guidance and protection of senior mafiosi. Notable Sicilian mafiosi *Salvatore Galluzzo 1934 aragona Sicily * (1862–1945), often depicted as the "boss of bosses", raised in Sicily. * (1877–1954), boss of , was considered to be one of the most influential Mafia bosses of Sicily after World War II until his death in 1954. * (1893–1976), boss of , considered to be the heir of Calogero Vizzini. * (1905–1958), boss of the from the 1940s to 1958. * (1923–1978), boss of the , he was the first "secretary" of the first that was formed somewhere in 1958. * (1923–2004), boss of the . * (1924–1975) boss of the . * (1924–2008), boss of the . * (1925–1978), boss mafia of . * (1925–1993), boss of the clan and instigator of the . * (1930–2017), also known as Totò Riina, emerged from the as the "boss of bosses" until his arrest in 1993. * (1933–2016), successor of Riina as head of the faction and as such was considered one of the most powerful bosses of the Sicilian Mafia. Provenzano was a fugitive from justice since 1963. He was captured on 11 April 2006 in Sicily. Before capture, authorities had reportedly been "close" to capturing him for 10 years. * (1935–2013) boss of and brother of . * (born 1938) boss and family mafia of and oriental. * (1939–1981), boss of the . His murder by the in 1981 inaugurated the . * (born 1941), member of the arrested in 1995. * (born 1942), considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano. * (1944–1981), boss of the . * (born 1959), boss and family mafia of . . * (born 1962), boss of considered to be one of the successors of Provenzano. Informants and witness * (1941–1984) was one of the first to become a pentito in 1973, although originally his confessions were not taken seriously. * (1928–2000), a mafioso who turned informant in 1984. Buscetta's evidence was used to great effect during the . * (born 1946), member of the , who turned informant in 1984. He was involved another in 1997 and 2004 in the drug trafficking and extortion. * (born 1940), member of the . He became an informant in 1991, for revenge against the . * (born 1955), member of the clan, who became an informant in 1992. He was the greater accuser of . * (born 1951) started to collaborate in October 1989. He was the first pentito who used to belong to the winning faction of the (1981–83). * (born 1954), became informant in 1993 after his arrest; offered information relating to the . * (1942–2011), turned himself to the in July 1993 and immediately began collaborating * (born 1957), who was involved in the murder of . Became an informant in 2000. * (born 1945), boss of and member of , turned informant in 2002, after his arrest. * (born 1964), member or the , who turned informant in 2008. Current status The status of the most dangerous living Sicilian mafiosi: References Category:Organized crime